GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

STRATDELUXER97

Stratoblaster Tone Meister
In my 50 watt Marshall V1...Compared it to my other fav...Black Plate short plate RCA and an early NOS Mullard ECC83....Pretty stiff competiton!

Great tube...Very full sounding,nice complex tone full of all kinds of harmonic content through my Marshall....Strong overall output and this tube seems to slightly tighten everything up,the lows are nice....

This tube has slightly more gain and output than the actual Mullard and the RCA that I tested this one against...

I Like the nice wavering effect I get with this tube when you crank up the amp just enough to where it starts to break into light overdrive...Harmonic feedback stuff was real easy to get at like 3 on my 50 watt Marshall using my Tele with a CS Nocaster in the bridge....

This GT sounded every bit as good as the RCA and an original early Mullard tube....I Like it alot,I'm recommending it,and I Now have this tube inside of my Marshall instead of the great sounding RCA...This tube does something I Liked better in the harmonic content of the notes....Very cool...

Play soft and you get a soft clean,articulate tone with nice shimmer on the top,but not ice picky crap....Dig in on your guitar and you get this cool bite that Marshalls do really well anyway,but this GT does it pretty easy in V1 with my amp....Nice!
Best tube out of (Russia?or is it Chinese?) I've heard to date.Nice job Groove Tubes...I'll buy another to keep as a spare!

I owe Buckeye some money now....:) :) :dance:

http://www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=2100
 
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Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

I have 4 - 12ax7s Mullards in my Laney Pro tube 30. This amp should be considered a boutique amp really.Its only 30 watts.I havent seen many 30watter w/ 4 preamp tubes. 80 or 100 watters yeah.
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

sonoflickapuss said:
I have 4 - 12ax7s Mullards in my Laney Pro tube 30. This amp should be considered a boutique amp really.Its only 30 watts.I havent seen many 30watter w/ 4 preamp tubes. 80 or 100 watters yeah.

So you likin these tubes also I gather?
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

The amp sounded good before but now its sounds great. Yes me likey a lot ,but i dont think its the same exact tubes you mention . All i know is i ordered 12ax7s mullards ,no m at the end of tube type that i remember? and def. not gts but still these were old tubes i got from e-bay the Laney also takes 6V6s(2)* power tubes i think those were gts?Im a new tube owner so dont mine me if i seem a little fuzzy on the tube types.
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

sonoflickapuss said:
The amp sounded good before but now its sounds great. Yes me likey a lot ,but i dont think its the same exact tubes you mention . All i know is i ordered 12ax7s mullards ,no m at the end of tube type that i remember? and def. not gts but still these were old tubes i got from e-bay the Laney also takes 6V6s(2)* power tubes i think those were gts?Im a new tube owner so dont mine me if i seem a little fuzzy on the tube types.

Did you order the Sovtek ones? Do they look like the tube I Posted in the link above in my first post or below?

http://www.groovetubes.com/product.cfm?Product_ID=2100
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

Glad you got a good one John, mine sounded great while it was working.
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

I think the 6v6s were Raytheon, and the 12ax7s were def. not sovtek I would have to do some checking to see exactly w/ manufacture they are.
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

Hey John, glad you like it! Got another one with your name on it brother! I'll shoot you a pm and we can work it out.
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

sonoflickapuss said:
I have 4 - 12ax7s Mullards in my Laney Pro tube 30. This amp should be considered a boutique amp really.Its only 30 watts.I havent seen many 30watter w/ 4 preamp tubes. 80 or 100 watters yeah.
You define booteek by the number of preamp tubes vs. wattage? :confused:
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

JumpMarine said:
Glad you got a good one John, mine sounded great while it was working.

I continue to read about reliabilty issues with these tubes,but the tube does have great tone! What was the lifetime of the 1 you tryed and do I need to have a spare 12AX7 as a backup for this GT?
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

I got 3 of them from Todd at revolutionguitar.com and haven't had any go bad.
I really think it's a crapshoot with tubes.....regardless of the brand, some just burn out like any brand of lightbulb would do. Plus, we're tone freaks putting them in amps that we abuse with volume and overdrive pedals, so ya never know. The GT M's are among my favorite pre tubes, and they sound great in an amp you're trying to get more juice out of. I tried them in my Bogner and they were a little bit overkill....just too fat and gainy. The GT C's sound better than anything in the Bogner. However, on amps like Plexi's, Matchless, or P to P boutiques, the GT M is really a nice tube because it pushes the preamp nicely. Another good one you should try is the JJ ECC803S.

Overall, I think my favorite current production tubes right now are the GT Mullards and Chinese 9th Gen Shuguang, the Sovtek LPS, Tungsol, and JJ ECC803S.....not to be confused with the ECC83. The one I still need to try is the RFT. As far as I'm concerned, there's no need to pay more for NOS pre tubes.

That issue about Sovtek possibly being ruined by Russian corruption worries me a little. Maybe it's a good time to stock up all the good tubes you want to own for life.......but who knows?
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

I like the GT12AX7-M also in my Mesa amps, and installed it in the V1 sockets. In one of my Mark IIIs I decided to also try one in the V3 socket for the Lead Channel. I like the results. I had tried JJ in a couple of amps and found them a bit dark and veiled sounding, and the EH 12AX7 was good--but the GT-M has a "creaminess" to the top end that I like.

Bill
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

Mine only lasted less than two months and then it died. But I agree, it does sound really nice. It made my Valvetronics come to life like no other tube could.

STRATDELUXER97 said:
I continue to read about reliabilty issues with these tubes,but the tube does have great tone! What was the lifetime of the 1 you tryed and do I need to have a spare 12AX7 as a backup for this GT?
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

JumpMarine said:
Mine only lasted less than two months and then it died. But I agree, it does sound really nice. It made my Valvetronics come to life like no other tube could.

As much of a pain in the a$$ it is to put tubes into the VTX,I'll just leave the pair of RCAs in that amp. :smack: :fingersx:
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

LOL, I got the tube swapping down to a fine science. It only took a couple of seconds with packing tape. Sadly, the VT is gone and I'm down to just two amps right now. The 18 watt TMB and my Silvertone. I'm still trying to decide what my next amp build will be.
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

JumpMarine said:
LOL, I got the tube swapping down to a fine science. It only took a couple of seconds with packing tape. Sadly, the VT is gone and I'm down to just two amps right now. The 18 watt TMB and my Silvertone. I'm still trying to decide what my next amp build will be.

Yeah...I use a rubber tipped spark plug wire tool....Works great....I'm keeping my VTX head....Love this amp! I don't sell amps and guitars,I just keep adding more to my collection...:smack: :13:
 
Re: GT Mullard 12AX7M Review,I Like It!

My Valvetronix loved that tube as well, but it only lasted a month. Groove Tubes just sent me a replacement and it just brought my Epi Valve Jr. head to life! No mud, no crud, no fuss, no muss.

:reporter: :smokin: :banana: :laugh2: :alcoholic
 
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